Category: Science
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The Real Reason Fingers Wrinkle in Water
The full explanation of how and why our fingers wrinkle in wet environments is still the subject of some debate. What we know is that the physiological mechanisms causing this phenomenon are the result of our veins constricting (vasoconstriction) in your hands and feet. One might notice this occurs even in warm water, when we…
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A day in the life of a Biomechanist
Ryan Hodierne is a Biomechanist at #TeamNSWIS, primarily in the sport of swimming. Hear what his job in biomechanics at the NSW Institute of Sport involves on a typical day.
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Watch NASA dump 450,000 gallons of water in less than a minute
NASA frequently achieves breathtaking feats: launching a probe to kiss the sun, discovering new worlds in far-flung star systems, and keeping humans alive as they speed around in a spaceship 250 miles above Earth. But space is hard, and it’s not always glamorous getting there. Sometimes NASA blows us away in more mundane ways—like by shooting about 450,000 gallons…
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Mysterious great white shark lair discovered in Pacific Ocean
The sharks’ annual pilgrimage to the mid-Pacific region from the coasts of California and Mexico has baffled scientists for years, not just because it is so far away — it takes a month for the sharks to get there — but because it seemed, on the surface, to be lacking the kind of prey or…
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Study shows competitive swimmer bodies consistent in morphology across race event lengths
A trio of researchers with Hunter College of the City University of New York has found that despite swimming in vastly different events, competitive swimmers tend to have the same body mass index (BMI). In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Christian Gagnon, Michael Steiper and Herman Pontzer describe their study of…
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Drowning not a major concern for 80% of parents with babies on holiday
Most parents feel no need to fret about their babies’ safety in the water while on holiday, according to new research. Less than a fifth (17.9%) expressed concern about the risk of drowning in a survey carried out by Splash About. The finding comes ahead of Drowning Prevention Week (15-25 June) — a campaign devised by the Royal…
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Anatomy of a Swimmer – How does Olympic champion Abbey Weitzeil generate speed?
In cooperation with Gold Medallist Abbey Weitzeil, we are revealing the key physical features that help make the Team USA swimmer so fast.
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Aimee Willmott applies her own science to beat Miley to Commonwealth gold
Few swimmers have a greater understanding of how to tease the best performance out of themselves than Aimee Willmott, who has written an academic paper on the subject. Willmott’s dissertation, published in the European Journal of Sport Science, considers the effect clothing worn between a warm-up and competition can have on performance. She concludes that…
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Science teacher swimming from Sanford to Jacksonville
Luther Davis, a physics and astronomy teacher at Lake Mary High School will hike, kayak and swim 180 miles along the St. Johns River from Sanford to Jacksonville.